A community once called Ross evolves into a 1920s boom-era real estate project and film studio that go bust.
By MICHELLE JONES
Published September 26, 2003
Originally called Ross, this small community changed its name to Sun City during the 1920s real estate boom, when the Sun City Holding Co. was formed.
Until then, this community in southwest Hillsborough County - south of College Avenue and west of U.S. 41 - was rattlesnake-infested scrub and pine flatlands. It quickly became the home of a motion picture studio, whose investors hoped would lure the film industry to Florida.
The streets are named for silent movie stars and studios of the period, including Pickford Avenue (Mary), Chaplin Drive (Charlie), Fairbanks Drive (Douglas) and Universal Drive.
Miami Realtor J.H. Meyer and H.C. Swearingen, a Cleveland railroad investor, bought 500 acres along the southwest bank of the Little Manatee River. The purchase included plans for a school, hotel, church, theater and a park for the motion picture studio.
When real estate values fell and investors' dreams crashed, Sun City was sold for $50,000 on the steps of the Hillsborough County Courthouse.
The movie studio was razed and the bricks sold for $1,500. The school was donated to the county and served black children until integration. In 1972 it burned to the ground.
Now, all that is left is the power plant that supplied electricity to the studio and the remains of the Jones' general store. Just last week, Hillsborough County designated the power plant a historic landmark.
